As the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Virgin Mother's birth, the Southern Italian Province of St. Thomas Aquinas rejoices with the reception of two secular priests in the Fraternities of St. Dominic.
The priests were received into the Fraternities by the Prior Provincial, fr. Francesco La Vecchia, OP, in a rite celebrated on 8 September 2016, 6:30 pm, at the Shrine of Madonna dell'Arco in Naples, Italy. It was witnessed by the members of the friars' community, the Dominican Family, and the faithful. With the admission of the two priests, the members of the fraternity in the Province has now grown to four, with the other two priests Don Nicola Meleca of the Diocese of Locri-Gerace, and Don Gerardo Perillo of the Diocese of Salerno.
Don Giuseppe Di Giovanni, a priest of the Diocese of Palermo, was born on 11 August 1971. He received priestly formation at the Seminario Arcivescovile di Palermo, and was ordained to the priesthood by His Emminence Salvatore Cardinal Pappalardo on 13 January 1996. On 1 October 1997, he was appointed parochial administrator of San Basilio Magno, and on 15 February 1999 as its parish priest. In 2005, together with some lay faithful, he founded the compagnia dell'Immacolata e San Filippo Neri, a lay association that follows the spirituality of the saint, as well as the total and unconditional consecration to Mary Immaculate.
Don Stefano Sgueglia, a priest of the Diocese of Caserta, was born in Caserta on 11 April 1989. He studied theology at the Pontificia Facoltà Teologica dell'Italia Meridionale Sezione San Luigi, and was ordained a priest on 25 April 2014. He is currently the assistant pastor of the Parish of San Giuliano Martire Marcianise, as well as the Parish Administrator of the Parish of S. Maria Assunta in Recale.
fr. Florentino Bolo, OP
